A third-degree Taekwondo black belt and modern day Renaissance man, Lee didn’t set out to become a bartender at all; he studied swing dancing in high school and, after an injury deterred his plans to become a cadet at West Point, he headed to Columbia University, where he received a degree in photography. It wasn’t until the mid-2000s, after he’d become an IT Administrator, that he took up cocktailing, spending an inordinate amount of time drinking through—and studying—the lists at Pegu Club, Milk & Honey and the bygone LeNell’s in Red Hook. In 2007, he started taking shifts at Death & Co.; later, he helped open PDT with Jim Meehan, the bar where Lee created the modern-classic Benton’s Old Fashioned, made with one of his earliest inventions: bacon fat-infused bourbon. The rest, as they say, is history.

Here, Lee shares his go-to drink in a dive bar, reveals his obsessions with Hamilton and Stormtrooper armor and spreads the gospel of a free-drink utopia. —Lizzie Munro

Worst thing you ever drank:Bong water, but I didn’t… inhale? I mean, swallow? Something, something, plausible deniability; I take the 5th.

First time you ever got drunk:First trip to Korea without family the summer after high school. A 375ml bottle of soju cost about $1, while a strip of pork belly Korean BBQ was $3. Therefore, my consumption pattern was three-parts soju to one-part Korean BBQ. I’ve now know to balance it closer to 1.5 : 1 and eat more banchan.

What’s the weirdest hobby you currently have or have had?I have no barometer for “weird.” I’m currently building a full set of Stormtrooper armor, making Jim Henson-style puppets, programing an Arduino robot that emotes only via eye rotation and teaching people how to raid in Destiny on the weekends. All of that seems normal to me. And to anyone who I share any of those hobbies with, the weirdest thing about me is my work with cocktails.

What’s your go-to drink in a cocktail bar?Whatever’s on the menu that has either an agave distillate or sherry.

Weirdest drink request you’ve ever received:Someone once asked me for vodka on the rocks in a Collins glass with a straw and water on the side. When I complied, they added a packet of Emergen-C to the vodka, poured water over it and stirred it with the straw. My only logical response was to offer an orange slice as a garnish.

Favorite bar:Eleven Madison Park

Best meal you’ve ever had:Sushi Yasuda, 2004. First time having “real” sushi. There were multiple times where I couldn’t chew because I was smiling so hard.